OH OH Oreo's Got It!

Many consumers don't realize what is going on currently in the digital age. When Oreo was able to post this ad just seconds after the Super Bowl blackout, 

the average consumer didn't wonder how they initiated this ad campaign so quickly. After doing some quick research, I learned that Oreo executives were stationed in the production room of their advertising agency during the Super Bowl. Oreo's quick creativity enabled them to capitalize on a pivotal social media moment consequently attracting many Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram followers.

These days, Generation Y is prompted to engage, not by a company's begging and constant pleading for "likes" or "follows," but by inventive or impressive advertisement and marketing campaigns. As a member of Generation Y, I too admire and furthermore acknowledge a company's innovative attempts to attract brand champions through digital campaigns.  

Digital campaigns continue to be a gray area for marketers in both small businesses and large corporations. Personally, I believe this is due to the major generation gap between those producing the content, and those targeted to engage in the material. 

Once marketers pinpoint "what it is the consumers really want" from digital, the next step is how to quantify customer data and revenue generated from these digital touch-points. It seems as if Oreo is nearing that point.

Less than Super Superbowl Commercials

Let me be honest. I attended a Super Bowl party for 3 reasons: the commercials,

the great Beyonce,



 and buffalo chicken cheese dip.

 I would love to discuss the last two in detail, but instead, I'll attempt to recap the 4 million dollar 30 second ad spots which failed to impress this year.

This year, the reoccurring theme seemed to be babies, families, and animals. With these three crowd pleasing subjects, you would think that the marketer couldn't go wrong. OH, but they did.

Here are my picks for the top 3 worst Super Bowl commercials of 2013.

Priceline "The Mission"



This was a Priceline negotiator commercial gone wrong. The scenario is absolutely pointless and the commercial managed to lose my attention after the first 5 seconds. It was actually terrible. I would hope that Priceline executives are firing their creative agencies currently. (Too harsh? Well, they did just waste 4 million dollars.)

VW:



I don't think that Volkswagen really thought this one through. The Jamaican accent on the thrilled new owner of the red VW may be offensive to some. In fact, VW screened the commercial to a focus group of Jamaicans to determine whether or not it was offensive. If you have to screen your Super Bowl commercial to make sure it doesn't offend anyone, you probably need a new commercial. Not to mention there was not a single black person in it.


Wonderful Pistachios:



COME ON! Haven't we all had enough of this PSY character? Just because he's doing his little dance surrounded by a bunch of pistachios with legs doesn't make me want to consume pistachios any more than I already do. It's obvious that the Wonderful Pistachio team took the easy way out this time. "Ahh what will we do for our Super Bowl commercial?" "Well, America really likes that little dance PSY does. Let's get him!!" Great thinking, if the Super Bowl had aired 6 months ago when PSY was still popular.


I guess in our social media centered world, it's okay to have produced a terrible commercial. In fact, a terrible commercial can be better than a mediocre one. Why? Because it starts buzz. So, congratulations Priceline, VW, and Wonderful Pistachios. You've made my top 3 worst commercial list, and subsequently, started some social media chatter. 

Inside Job

No. This blog post is not referring to the 2010 documentary on the 2000's financial crisis starring Matt Damon. But just to keep you interested...

Now that you've had a glimpse of those beautiful beady eyes, it's time to move on to the serious stuff. And by serious stuff, I'm talking about this guy:

He may not look so serious, but he has some SERIOUSLY good points to make. Michael Lazerow, the geek chic bearded hipster man you see above, is the CEO and co-founder of Buddy Media, Inc. 

In an article entitled "Social Media Advertising is Set to Explode. Who Will Control It?" Lazerow brings forth the notion that the line between advertising, marketing, and PR is being blurred by the clients' growing need for social media platforms. The battle for clients' advertising budgets is becoming even more fierce, but until actual revenue can be traced from social media strategies, it is unclear how the results of digital marketing and social media agencies will be measured. Only the lucky few (those companies that entered the social media world as early adopters) have mastered the techniques necessary to engage in social media and gain positive quantifiable results.

Other companies have not been so lucky. Lazerow pinpoints three reasons as to why social media marketing is not flourishing as rapidly as many believed it would.

1. Clients still believe that the agencies can tell their story: The only way a social media campaign will be successful is if the company itself develops a strong and consistent brand voice and brand image. The client can not rely on the agency to establish a platform without constant consultation with the company.

2. Tool anarchy: In the past decade, thousands of companies have "popped up" claiming to have developed the latest and most improved social media software. Companies continuously focus on these "tools" instead of concentrating on the internal organization and content optimization across all touch points. 

3. Focusing on social media and not on social advertising: Companies fail by using social media as an engagement tool which consequently, only reaches a small audience. Instead, they should be using social media as a compliment to their larger advertising and marketing efforts in order to influence a larger market.  

In conclusion, Lazerow makes it quite clear that he scorns companies who use third party social media agencies to "get the job done." He believes that companies who organize social media efforts internally, and identify a common brand image and voice, will procure the greatest results.